CAR T-Cell Therapy

When Marcela V. Maus, MD, PhD, thinks of the challenge of bringing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapies to market in the battle against cancer, she is reminded of the auto industry's first days.

The investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy CTL019 demonstrated promising activity in 2 pilot trials, eliciting complete remissions in 27 of 30 pediatric and adult patients (90%) with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, discusses the implications of responses to the CAR T-cell therapy KTE-C19, particularly among patients with chemotherapy-refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is an immunotherapy in which the patient's own T cells are isolated in the laboratory, redirected with a synthetic receptor to recognize a particular antigen or protein, and reinfused into the patient.

The investigational CD19-targeted CAR therapy CTL019 has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA as a potential treatment for pediatric and adult patients with relapsed/refractory ALL.